PG Music Home Forums PG Music Wishlists Band-in-a-Box Wishlist BIAB User Interface and Functionality "WIP"

Thanks for letting me make suggestions in this forum. Most of this is wishes for the UI for people using Band in a Box for the first time and even some experienced users.
Mostly these suggestions are centered around the "Instruments and Parts" UI and also include some toolbar and file menu tweaks. This post is a work in progress and might change.

Select an Instrument from the drop down: “Instruments and Parts:”
Click the drop down then type the number of the instrument works but it is too fast needs a little delay for typing double digits or triple, but this is a excellent start.

New: When the cursor highlights the instrument in blue, you then have the option to scroll the mouse wheel up and down the selections. Would typing the letters of the name of the instrument work? Typing the first letter in the instrument name, lets say "G" would show the first instrument starting with that letter, then tap the "G" key again to see the second instrument starting with that letter and so on.

Selecting Instruments by Categories
Right click the drop down and get a context menu for instruments organized by category, make link in this context menu to load more patches. Eliminate the current GM categories button.

Master Volume
"Combo" changed to Main, Master or Master Volume

Favorites
The F buttons changed to Fav's and Fav changed to Fav's in dialogs throughout BIAB

Changing Values:
Click in the event windows "Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus etc" and then press the up and down arrow keys on the computer keyboard to make the values change incrementally

1. Hold the Shift key to make them change by 10ths
2. Fully hold down the arrow key and have the numbers scroll by
3. Peck at the arrow key for single digit increments

Click in the event window and type in the value without the added popup window, the popup seemed a little confusing at first because of the size of the text entry area because it looked like if you pressed enter it would start a new line like a text editor does, and not close it like it currently does.

Same controls for the rest of the events windows. Lastly being able to tab through the events windows.

Panning:

Hard Pan: Click in the Pan window and type r for right l for left or c for center, doing this will set the value to -63 Left 0 Center 63 Right. If one of the letters r, l, or c are entered that letter will stay highlighted in the event window until the user either presses the up or down arrow keys in which it will switch to numeric then increment.

If the user clicks off the window the number will display and set the value. Another option would be to click in the pan event window and press the left arrow key for full left pan or right for full right and . “Period” for center or Home for center. What do you think?

Melodies and Soloist
Change "Audio" tab to "Melodies and Soloist" and put in Volume control event window. Add right click feature to drop down menus for categories, make links in context menu to features found in current "Select Melody Harmony pop up window, Write Harmony to Soloist Track, Note Off, No Harmony, Edit Instrument.

New Jam! Button
Replace the Wizard check box with the Jam! button. Make the Jam! button with right click function to edit the loop section settings. I picked Jam! because of the sense of Jamming with the band.

New Render Button
Click the Render button to get the export menu for midi, audio and others currently under the .Mid and .wav buttons. The new Render button will have a right click option to set it either to Audio or Midi so that when it is clicked the corresponding export dialog will be shown. The render button is a graphic of a hard drive "Write to disk"

Juke Box Player
Change text under forward and reverse from Juk to <- Fwd - Rev ->
A cool feature might be to right click on the Juke Box button and have BIAB fold down into compact player mode that looks like the Juke box with a little screen that shows what song is playing complete with volume controls and song picker.

New Idea for loop recording

Here’s the new loop recording features below, still change the Audio tab to "Melodies and Soloist" with right click menu for Solo and Mute. Make click in “depressable” buttons for the “Embellisher” button, the LoopSec could be possibly substituted with the new loop record feature.

Loop Play Reply Button:
Play button with more functions “Play – Loop - Replay” Right click the Play button and select either Loop, Play or Replay the button graphic will change to reflect the choice:

1. Play, BIAB will play the song from the beginning or from any selected bar in the chord spreadsheet.
2. Loop Play, BIAB will repeat entire song if no bars are selected over and over, or will loop any selected range of bars over and over.
3. Replay, BIAB will play the song from any given point selected by the user without regenerating the RealTracks.
4. If the Record button is press while BIAB is in Loop play mode the user can either record into the entire song repeatedly if no bars are selected or record into a selected range of bars highlighted in the chord bar spreadsheet area.

Record Button
Would it be possible to use two interchangeable graphics for the Record button? The Midi record button would be Blueish Gray (Try Red too, thinking about visibility and visual comprehension showing that BIAB is in Record Midi mode) with a five pin midi plug on it when Record midi is on and use the current R.Aud button graphic when Record Audio is on.

Transport Layout
Set the Play transport controls in this order | Rewind - Play – Pause – Stop – Record |

Play From Button
Remove the button, the song can be played with the Play button by clicking on the desired bar then click play, or double click the desired bar to start the song from that bar.

File Menu Layout
File | Edit | Play | Render | Styles - Lyrics - Harmony - Melody - Soloist - Notation | GM – Audio – Options - Window - Help

Help Menu
Put the “Return to Factory Settings” under the Help menu because when we need to do this we need some major help with the program.

Saving BIAB projects
When saving a BIAB project file a check box option will be present to make a project directory with the same name as the project to store all data for that project in it.


Thank you again. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for such a great program, there's nothing like it. Thanks Peter and the Gannon Family!
Warren

I made a BIAB UI mockup in Photoshop here's the link

Hello Matt,

Thank you for reading my post

Transport Controls
Rewind Button on the left, follows the left hand direction of the operation and the mental picture of pulling the time line play head back to the start of the song.
Play Button in the middle of Rewind and Pause, it is the center focus of playing the song the main command function the main call to action.
Pause Button on the right because it is a more intermittent action and in this position it is a yield sign for the play direction which is to the right from the play button, it intermittently and temporarily stops the flow of the play button.
Stop Button last, it is a final action or ending action, brings all things to a halt.

Record Button, it is a secondary action to the main function of the main transport Rewind - Play - Pause - Stop, but is highly important and outside the ridged functions of the main transport, the Record Button helps the user add to the song by letting them input their musical style of playing into the song arrangement.

Play From Button Removal
At first new users to BIAB will most likely if they have not used the space bar to start and stop songs in a music program, will look for a button, as they become accustomed to the keyboard equivalents to the graphical aspects of the transport they will most likely use the Space bar to start and stop the song since the Space bar function cuts down on mouse clicks and gives them the alternate rapid two handed play back feature of clicking the desired bar with the mouse and hitting Space bar to play this function helps the user quickly scan through the song for themself or someone standing with them.

Save Functions
When the user Saves the BIAB project for the first time a check box option will be present to 'Save with Patches and Harmony' this will be the equivalent to checking off all the check boxes in the 'Assign Instruments & Harmonies to Song' dialog. If the user wants make edits to the 'Assign Instruments & Harmonies to Song' dialog they can do so by right clicking the Save button doing this will pop up the 'Assign Instruments & Harmonies to Song' dialog allowing edits to these functions. Also the right click feature on the Save button will give the user the option to 'Save Song Save with Patches and Harmony' on a project not previously saved this way.

Create Project Directory
Was thinking the same thing you are, I noticed that when saving and rendering BIAB projects to disk there are the .MGU .SGU .WAV .MP3 and others created , I seen that the 'SongPicker' can scan sub directories, having BIAB projects in their own sub directories maybe ok if a standardized scan sub directories is implemented for these type of features that include building songs list and libraries. The Juke box has the feature to add directory paths maybe it can have a scan sub directories feature too.

Warren

P.S. I really like your music on CD Baby, I haven't checked yet but are you recorded in any of the RealTracks?

Update: Replay brought back out to the toolbar because the Play button has a dual feature to put BIAB into Play or Loop and Replay is not a part of what sets BIAB into Loop Record mode. Play will generate new data, Loop will activate Loop recording features allowing you to record through the whole song or just selected bars by clicking the record button while in this mode. Thinking about if you select a group of bars and press play would it be possible to regenerate RealTrack and MidiStyle data for just those bars? Anyhow hope this isn't too silly

Transport Layout
Set the Play transport controls in this order | Rewind - Play – Replay - Pause – Stop – Record |



BIAB is shown in Loop mode for Loop play and Loop Record

Is it possible to create a feature which by one click could "zero down" all the panning ?
The point is - audio files render with established in BiAB pan settings and maybe problematic in further mix?
Some easy access to setting rendering as separate tracks could be nice as well.
Something like in Realband.
Thanks